Marwat tells IHC police raided his house

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Supreme Court advocate Sher Afzal Khan Marwat on Monday claimed his house was raided at 2:00 am and the accused wore masks.

Marwat made the claims before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) while speaking during a petition being heard on the recovery of Baloch students. IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani marveled it was happening with Marwat, who was an elected member of the parliament and a senior lawyer. He said the PTI leader was not talking about Lakki Marwat, but Islamabad.

The court wondered what would happen to the common man in Balochistan if such treatment was being meted out to an elected lawmaker in the federal capital. Earlier in a tweet, Marwat claimed the CTD police raided his house and broke the doors causing damages. “…they stressed out my family and staff and confiscated my laptop. I managed to run away from my home and now I am at a safe place. This is an illegal raid and I will challenge the IG and SSP operation Islamabad in the court for this criminal act; the confiscation of my laptop is illegitimate. It contains my private and professional data, (that may be) subjected to misuse. These cowardly tactics will not scare me, or force me to step back from our mission, which is for the larger cause — the fight for true democracy in Pakistan,” he wrote on X.

The claim was denied by Islamabad Police on X saying they did not raid the house of Marwat. Fake news was being spread to gain public attention, the police maintained.

Justice Kayani said if the inspector general of police’s behaviour was not rectified then he should be removed. He also asked why a raid was carried out at night at the house of a person who was available during the day. The IHC directed the interior secretary to call the Islamabad IG and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) to take a written statement from them in this regard.

“Whatever is happening is known to the entire system, including judges, but all are silent on it. If state institutions do this then who will protect citizens from thieves and robbers,” he said, adding that such a treatment to an elected MNA and SC advocate was shameful. Marwat suggested putting the Islamabad IG behind bars for 10 days to set everything right.